Lassus was considered to be the greatest composer of his day.
Today his vast output is woefully underrecorded. When his sacred
music is performed today, it is generally sung unaccompanied, giving
it a stark, black-and-white sound. The instumental additions here
provide a wonderfully colorful performance. For example the Agnus
Dei from the Lassus Mass is performed twice, first with voices and
very discreet organ, then the cornetts and sackbuts join in, to
bring the Mass to a glorious, jubilant conclusion. As well as give
support and texture to the voices in the Mass, the cornett and
sackbut ensemble perform instrumental canzoni. There are also solo
organ pieces and unaccompanied vocal motets to give a listener the
experience of how a sacred service in Munich might have sounded in
the late sixteenth century.